OK to buy cd key only for games?

R

RyanH

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 22, 2006
Messages
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A friend of mine just bought Resident evil 5 for the PC so I've been looking where I could find a copy for the lowest price. I see cd keys for sale for like $12-13 which seems like a great deal but is it a totally legit way to buy a game. I'm asking about buying games in general like this because I see low prices for alot of game out there for just the cd key. Is it against the EULA to buy a game like this?
 
Its probably against the EULA depending on the game. Publishers arent crazy about the resale market. That doesnt mean its illegal, though how they obtained the keys could be.
 
Well considering some cd keys can be generated by people who crack the algorithm, I highly doubt this is legal. However, I don't think they can tell the difference between a generated key and their own sense they just generate them the same way.
 
If it were Amazon, Steam or Newegg, then it is legit. I would not trust some website I have never heard of.
 
I wouldn't... depending on the game. Like COD4, multiple people can use the same key as long as they're not in the same server as one another. So the seller could be selling the same key several times without much chance of you ever noticing.
 
bigdogchris said:
Well considering some cd keys can be generated by people who crack the algorithm, I highly doubt this is legal. However, I don't think they can tell the difference between a generated key and their own sense they just generate them the same way.
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If that were true then how do programs know when a key is a "pirated serial number"? I've seen people get a message like, "The serial number being used has been identified as being a pirated number." Or something to that effect.
 
I figure if someone is going to buy a key off one of these sites they might as well just pirate the game because the publisher isn't likely to receive anything from the purchase. You're probably just sending money to some thief in China.
 
I have bought a key before for steam. it wont let you authorize it more than once so it really doesnt matter if thats what its for.
 
htpc_user said:
If that were true then how do programs know when a key is a "pirated serial number"? I've seen people get a message like, "The serial number being used has been identified as being a pirated number." Or something to that effect.
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because they know which keys they have sold, when a key from a keygen is used they can actually look and see if it is a legit key that they sold with a retail game.
 
The problem is you don't know how they obtained the CD key. Maybe legit, maybe not.
 
I wouldn't be surprised if these came from entire software shipments that are stolen. If I had a crate full of stolen PC games I'd be selling the keys on the internet and not trying to mail them to people giving my address out.
 
Or going to walmart and writing the keys down... lol. something I may have done in the past, when I was much younger.
 
H-street said:
because they know which keys they have sold, when a key from a keygen is used they can actually look and see if it is a legit key that they sold with a retail game.
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Yeah, my point to bigdogchris was that they DO know which keys are legit and which ones aren't.
 
MetalX said:
I figure if someone is going to buy a key off one of these sites they might as well just pirate the game because the publisher isn't likely to receive anything from the purchase. You're probably just sending money to some thief in China.
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QFT

:p
 
Just sound's too shady and probably from a stolen copy of the game like someone said before. Most likely scenario is a key-gen number.
 
i have bought BF2 keys off of ebay before and I never had a problem with them.
 
What people do (on ebay anyways) is sell keys from games bought in places like india where games are a fraction of the price. Ive seen a few new games sold like this on ebay (batman: AA for example) Its still up to you to find a copy of the software normally form a torrent or a friends DVD.

As long as the CD keys arnt region locked the keys are legal and work just fine in the US/canada. Ebay is about the only place I would trust buying keys from people with good reps and paypal insurance. that or well knowing websites like the ones selling keys to diablo2
 
Ragenrok said:
What people do (on ebay anyways) is sell keys from games bought in places like india where games are a fraction of the price. Ive seen a few new games sold like this on ebay (batman: AA for example) Its still up to you to find a copy of the software normally form a torrent or a friends DVD.

As long as the CD keys arnt region locked the keys are legal and work just fine in the US/canada. Ebay is about the only place I would trust buying keys from people with good reps and paypal insurance. that or well knowing websites like the ones selling keys to diablo2
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OK, I don't understand. Why would a game sold in India be a fraction of the cost of what it is in the U.S.? So we export games to India and they're able to sell them cheaper?
 
yes, because people in india (and other poorer countries) make so much less publishers sell them alot cheaper there. Expecting people to pay the same price as us when everyone makes alot less isnt a very good idea.

Its the concept of selling lots cheaper over selling a few for more money. They know they will sell alot more there cheaper than charging them something they cant afford.

Of course they dont intend for people to buy games in places like that and resell in places like the US but it happens.
 
There is a difference between a legit CD key and a generated one. You can crack any program on your own PC into accepting a generated one. All the program does is say "Does key X match Y algorithm?". However, this won't work online in many cases if their keyservers check and say "Sure, this key matches the algorithm, but we never generated one like this! denied!". There are ways around this, but they are certainly more difficult than the average pirate wants to mess with.

If you do splurge and buy a key for that low price, check to make sure it "works" online. If it does, its a legit key. Maybe the seller is from another country, maybe the seller works at a Gamestop and took home a pallet of games that weren't quite selling etc... however, if it does NOT work online then never buy again as its just some guy with a keygen raking in the dough.
 
I don't see a legality issue if the keys are completely legit from the source. It's just like with Microsoft and their "no media" license purchases. You're purchasing a license (the key) for the software, but you don't need the media (CD/etc).

Obviously, their EULA/Purchase-Agreement may vary. But that is my take on the subject.
 
htpc_user said:
OK, I don't understand. Why would a game sold in India be a fraction of the cost of what it is in the U.S.? So we export games to India and they're able to sell them cheaper?
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Yes. That happens every day. And that's why you can get games like DoW II, Sims 2, Sims 3 and Crysis, etc. for dirt cheap prices online. Someone buys them in these other countries, sells them for a slight mark-up which ends up with both consumer and reseller "winning". Only people that don't win is the distributor for screwing over wealthier nations and lowering the price to sell in not so wealthy ones.
 
What about the guys who sell EA Store games??I bought a key for NFS Shift that works perfectly..Hell,I downloaded it via EA Download Manager and it works online flawlessly.
 
g1xx3r said:
What about the guys who sell EA Store games??I bought a key for NFS Shift that works perfectly..Hell,I downloaded it via EA Download Manager and it works online flawlessly.
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I'm wondering the same.
 
I think its fine to buy keys online. I've never had problems with the few places i go to.
 
g1xx3r said:
What about the guys who sell EA Store games??I bought a key for NFS Shift that works perfectly..Hell,I downloaded it via EA Download Manager and it works online flawlessly.
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Yes I've bought a few EA games that way. The guy selling them for $13 or best offer right? In that case the EA download manager downloads the game for you though so it seems legit. In the case of other games like Resident Evil 5 for example, I'd have to get it off a torrent which doesn't seem legit to me but I'm not sure what the EULA allows and hence my question. Hypothetically if the cd key I purchase is legit, then would it be ok to download a game off a torrent?
 
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Read the EULA and most will state that you are purchasing a license to use the software, the key is just a tool.
 
It's fine as long as the RIAA don't see you doing it. Otherwise they will claim that the original disc is the only disc that you're allowed to use and only on your computer. You also do not own that disc and are licensing it until the company stops supporting that title. If the game doesn't work for whatever reason (over protective DRM) you aren't allowed to modify the game or any of it's settings to get it to run properly, and the company isn't responsible for making the game work and doesn't owe you anything in return for non-functioning software. Lost discs are not a problem for the RIAA, you must buy another copy. Sending or receiving an iso with someone is breaking DMCA and easily a $50,000 fine per person. Since they cant prove how many people you shared with, they will assume your average is about the total number of seeds divided by the current number of seeders (so probably 1000 times). :rolleyes:

Also if anyone witnesses you trading games or allowing a friend pick up a cd case, they are allowed to sue you for breaking DMCA. They also get to keep all of the fines...or maybe this is just a rule that the RIAA made up?


On a more serious note, I'd buy keys online but it's hard for me to trust that someone isn't overselling the same key to 2-3 people or using a keygen.
 
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